Bullpen and defensive lapses cost Tigers late vs. Twins

Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain throws during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins in Detroit on Sunday. The Tigers lost, 4-3.
CARLOS OSORIO — The Associated Press

DETROIT >> It certainly wasn’t the rookie starting pitcher that lost this one.

The Detroit Tigers’ bullpen — aided and abetted by poor outfield defense — gave up a 3-0 lead, as the Minnesota Twins rallied with three in the eighth to win Sunday’s rubber game in the series, 4-3.

It’s the first series lost by the Tigers (21-12) since dropping two of three in San Diego April 11-13.

Robbie Ray pitched six scoreless innings in his second career start, becoming the fourth Tigers starter to throw at least six shutout innings, allowing four-or-fewer hits in one of his first two starts.

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“Shoot, he pitched outstanding. When you give up no runs over six, he’s giving you a chance to win,” said manager Brad Ausmus.

“The bullpen has been good. Joba (Chamberlain) has been outstanding in the eighth inning. It was an off day. You’re not going to be perfect. Nobody’s perfect. I still have complete faith in, especially the back end, the way it’s been set up since — shoot the first 10 days of the season. It’s kind of settled down, and guys have settled into roles. You’re not going to win every game when you have a lead going late, but I think we’re going to win the vast majority of them, the way the guys are going now.”

Chamberlain gave up his first three runs in seven appearances in the eighth inning, the first two of them scoring on a double by Josmil Pinto that jumped over the glove of Rajai Davis in left field.

“We felt good handing the ball to Joba and hopefully to Joe the next two innings, but like I said, Joba — as good as he’s been — was bound to have a little bit of an off day. You hope he has an off day when he’s just getting work, but most times when he’s pitching, it’s going to be a tight game late,” Ausmus said. “When you’re a set-up man or closer, and you have an off day, the magnifying glass is a lot brighter. We still almost got out of it. Hopefully he’ll be back in there for the eighth inning tomorrow — he might need a day off, but he’ll back in the eighth inning again soon.”

As for the ball that eluded Davis, for an error that plated the middle of the three runs?

“The ball ... hit something on the grass, and looked like it bounced up. I don’t know what it was. But if you watch the video, it clearly jumped up after hitting something,” Ausmus said.

That didn’t make Davis — who wasn’t sure it did hit anything — feel any better.

“No, it doesn’t, because we’re expected to make those plays, and we expect to win. It’s tough when you lose a game where that could have been the difference,” he said. “It just hopped up over my glove. Tough play. Unfortunate. It’s tough to anticipate a hop like that in the outfield.”

An inning earlier, right fielder Torii Hunter seemed to have a chance to throw Pinto out at the plate after a one-hop single by Danny Santana. When Hunter’s throw went to shortstop Andrew Romine, Pinto — who’d held at third — took off again, and scored.

“He’s supposed to score. They held him up. I’m thinking, what you’re supposed to do is score. With two outs, he’s running, from where I was. So when I threw the ball, I’m like, ‘What is he doing?’ but it worked out in their favor,” Hunter said.

About the Author

Detroit Tigers beat writer for The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Michigan. Mowery has spent 19 years covering sports, from preps to pros. He’s been honored with more than 25 awards for writing. Reach the author at matt.mowery@oakpress.com
or follow Matthew B. on Twitter: @MatthewBMowery.